LeBron James & Anthony Davis talks Game 3 loss, Full Postgame Interview

Guys, I asked Austin what he thought was the kind of difference in the three

game

s that you pointed out in the third quarter, a pretty big scoring gap in that period, just wondering what you noticed at halftime of the three

game

s and what happened in the second half and what that can tell you about the start of the fourth game. I feel like we spent so much energy in the first half building leads or you know, you know the defensive intensity that we have and that we came out in the third quarter. without a lot of energy or you know, you know, we kind of lost track of the attention to detail that we had in the first half, you know, I think a lot of that played into it and I mean, you gotta give credit where it goes with Denver.

Also, those guys make tough shot after tough shot and I think, you know, that's it, there's a lot of things that happened in the third for sure tonight, uh, for you two, I guess starting with the announcement. You have another game on Saturday where you change your mindset and say if we do this this and that maybe we'll get a different result than we had the last 11 times, yeah, I mean, you know, a lot of second chance points, offensive rebounds . um, you know, we gave up nine in the third game, I mean the second game, and they had nine and a half time. um, she noted. uh, you know, 20 in the second, 22 in the third.

You know a team like that, who can, who is going to score. We also have to be able to score, so I think that's it. I mean, you know, transition back. The defense is rebounding and continues to score the ball. It's for any of you. They finished the regular season in second. half of the regular season as one of the best offensive and shooting teams. That hasn't been the case so far in this series. It was maybe the first quarter or the first half. What happened? What have you seen there? I guess it clicked offensively more in the second half, especially the second half.

Oh, I mean, obviously tonight we shot 5 of 27 from the three-point line, you know, sometimes we had really good looks, sometimes they were contested shots. but I thought we generated some really good shots that just weren't able to knock him down. In the regular season, the postseason is two different games, two different situations, so you know what happens in the regular season, obviously, you build those habits throughout the whole process. the regular season, but the game totally changed in the postseason and we have to be able to make the adjustments, but you know, we've had some really good looks for three quarters, for three games, um, we've made some and U, but not tonight It was one of those nights, guys, has there been any part of the feeling you have with the team psychology?

This is not just 3 0, it's bigger because of what they've been able to do against Boys, now I think 11 games in a row uh no um, our mental focus right now is to try to get one, try to get a game and then continue from there, try to get the game on Saturday, game four and go from there um. all the talk you know, as much as it is, of course, you know we can't focus on that, you know our focus is to try to get better, starting tonight, learn from our mistakes and try to get a win on Saturday, you can't .

Do anything about it, you know, you know, it's a thing of the past, our discussions have been transition, rebounding, scoring, keeping our pace and focusing on the fourth game, hey Braun, throughout your career you faced to dynasties, you faced super teams, you faced a lot. of really tough squads Where did the Dumber Nuggets rank in terms of the toughest teams you face? It's very difficult for me to answer that question right now. I could probably sit down at some point and rank the teams in my 20s or so. race about which teams were some of the toughest teams um this team is definitely well equipped well prepared well coached um they have no offensive weaknesses um you know all the players that they put on the court um especially a stellar lineup, they have been one of the best starting five in our league in recent years, you know, they have shot creators, they have playmakers, they have guys that can rebound and assist and things like that, that's the nature, so you know it's always, you know , always.

I try to keep you in check, but they are definitely one of the best teams you know that I have played on in my career, but to rank them now would be too difficult. I have played against many. Great teams, this is a great team and I have played against many. This question is for any of you, but you mentioned 14 offensive rebounds tonight. There has been a trend in these matchups this past year and what have you noticed in terms? of how they get offensive rebounds, you know, it's a size thing where sometimes point guards match up against their bigs or what you're seeing in terms of the trends of how they get those rebounds, sometimes it's you.

I know bigger guy guards, but other times it's just boxing or just going for it. You know, nowadays there are times when guys miss shots and get their own rebound. I think you know everyone anticipates that the other guy will do it. Get it instead of knowing one of us is going to get it, so I think that's where a lot of the rebounds come from. You have some where they shoot long shots and then they go over our heads and stuff like that, but mostly. part um you know guys follow their own shots or we're just not boxing and um you know they're getting their second chance points like the last two hello LeBron um you've had an amazing first player in your career the first player to score 40K first. player on the team to win a season tournament no team has come back from a 3 deficit nothing to what extent do you think you guys can be the first to do it, I mean, take, it's one game at a time at this point, ya you know, and you lose, you go home, so you come up with the mentality, let's force a game five and then we go from there, so as long as you have life, you'll always have faith, um, I just think that playing until the wheels falling off, you know, that's what it's always about for me as a mentality and I know this guy next to me feels the same way as LeBron, you said in New Orleans that you guys were going to have to play almost perfect basketball. against this team to win in that kind of pursuit of perfection on the court, have you seen the guys press?

You've seen? Could that be part of the reason why a good shooting team has two games where they are under 20%? of the stress and pressure that they put on you, the greatness that they demand, do you think that affects your guys' ability to deliver on that? I don't know, I mean, it's the playoffs, we're professionals, you're supposed to have anxiety and pressure and feel the pressure of that's what the playoffs are about so no, I don't know how to answer that question, I don't know. , I don't know, I don't know I don't know if you should ask people you know that question and see how they feel.

It's hard for me to be like that. I think that guy feels like he's not mine. I can not do this. I'm not a mind reader, I don't know, but this is the postseason. Me and this guy have been playing together for six years. We have been to the top of the mountain. We have been close to the top of the mountain. I've played a lot of games, we know what it takes to win, we know what it takes to win a championship and how do you know, Dam and almost perfect, you have to be, that's not something that's that crazy to get.

I've been a part of this four times where you have to have almost perfect basketball to win, you know, and I've done it with him, so I'm not a guy you should ask that because I don't feel the way. about anyone who doesn't want to strive to be as perfect as possible and it's just basketball, at the end of the day, it's just basketball.